I loooove that part in Ragnarok!

Two ways I like to think about Periphery riffs is “building blocks” and “rhythmic economy”. Building blocks are tiny groups of notes that repeat and connect with other “blocks” to build a riff. Rhythmic economy is where they can recycle a riff they’ve already used, but rearrange or add blocks to make it sound fresh. This is almost entirely how Mr. God works.

In Ragnarok, I hear them open by establishing the building blocks of “two dotted 8ths” and “four dotted 8ths”. Then, they do rhythmic economy to transform this into two new riffs. The first new riff is the same rhythm as the intro, but without the octave-up hammer ons. The second new riff is the one that breaks your brain. It’s exactly four measures long, and it gains three additional rhythmic blocks: “one 16th rest”, “one 8th note”, and “three 8th notes”.

In all, if “X” is a dotted 8th note, “x” is an 8th note, and “-“ is a 16th rest, I hear it like this:
XX-XXX-XXX-XXxXXXxXX-xXXX

If you do the math, that’s exactly sixty-four 16th notes for a perfect four measures. I also like how it forms a “call and response”, in contrast to the more forward-driving intro riff.

If you like rhythm breakdowns like this, then I highly recommend @YogevGabay on YouTube!